Editorial: Libya's end game

Since mid-March when the people of Libya turned against their autocratic and corrupt government and the NATO countries began providing vital air cover, diplomatic analysts including our own U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton have been saying Moammar Gadhafi's days were numbered and the fall of his regime may be imminent.

This long-running prediction appears close to coming true.

The rebels have closed off key highways linking Tripoli with Tunisia and the south. Slowly the rebels are capturing the towns surrounding Tripoli. Rebel leaders say they expect to take the city by the end of the month. Perhaps in a sign that desperation is taking hold, a top security official in Col. Gadhafi's inner circle defected with his family to Egypt this month.

If there is one lesson we should have learned from Iraq it is that when the regime goes, it will go suddenly and the U.S. and our allies should be prepared to move immediately to get key segments of the infrastructure up and running, quickly lift restrictions on trade and, above all, get a government and effective and honest security forces in place.

The ruling council in the rebel capital of Benghazi is likely to form the basis of the new government. The council will need lots of international help. And, as the United States learned in Iraq, we should promise only that help we can deliver on a timely basis.

The United Nations should have a substantial presence in Libya post-Gadhafi as should the Arab League and the European Union. Only if the Libyans ask for it should NATO offer to maintain a presence.

It now appears that Britain, France, Italy and the smaller NATO nations did just fine with the U.S. in a supporting role. This should be another lesson to the U.S.: We don't have to lead every parade, pick up all the tabs and solve everybody's problems.